Opel-Vauxhall Ampera 2011-2016

The European version of the Volt, the Opel Ampera (known as the Vauxhall Ampera in the United Kingdom), was unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show in March 2009, and also was exhibited at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show.

Opel developed the battery control modules for the Ampera at the Opel Alternative Propulsion Center Europe in Mainz-Kastel, Germany. The production version of the Ampera was unveiled at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.
The Ampera is assembled at the Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant, Michigan.

The main differences between the Volt and the Ampera are in their styling. The Ampera has a distinctive front and rear fascia, with a large cut-out in the rear bumper. The Opel Ampera features more stylized alloy wheels as standard, and the side skirts are body-colored rather than black. In the inside there are only minor differences and both versions share the same exact powertrain and battery pack.

A key operational difference was that the Ampera has four drive modes, one more than the 2011/12 model year Volt. The additional option is "City Mode", which adapts battery management to the needs of commuter travel. City mode or "battery hold" engages the range-extender immediately, allowing to save the energy currently stored in the battery, and when switched off, the range-extender stops and the Ampera is then able to use the energy saved in the battery for pure electric driving, for example for traveling urban areas or restricted zones, such as the European low emission zones or to allow the Ampera to qualify for an exemption of the London congestion charge.

The 2013 model year Volt included the "Hold Drive" button to allow drivers to conserve battery-pack energy for use at a particular time of their choice.

The Opel/Vauxhall Ampera was Europe's top selling plug-in electric car in 2012 with 5,268 units and captured a 21.5% market share of the region's plug-in electric passenger car segment. As of October 2013, the Ampera held a market share of almost 10% of European registration of plug-in electric cars since 2011. The market share in the Netherlands was 40% and 10% in Germany.

Ampera sales fell 40% in 2013 to 3,184 cars, and within the plug-in hybrid segment, the Ampera was surpassed in 2013 by the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV (8,197), Volvo V60 plug-in (7,437), and the Prius plug-in (4,314). In 2013 the Ampera ranked eighth among Europe's top selling plug-in electric vehicles, and its market share fell to about 5%. During the first five months of 2014, only 332 units had been sold, down 67% from the same period in 2013.
In July 2014, Opel announced that due to the slowdown in sales, the Ampera will be discontinued after the launch of second generation Volt, and between 2014 and 2018, Opel plans to introduce in Europe a successor product in the electric vehicle segment. Ampera sales totaled 939 units in 2014, and only 215 units during the first nine months of 2015.

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